


Lie With Me

by juggieheadcoopers



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 06:12:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10713825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juggieheadcoopers/pseuds/juggieheadcoopers
Summary: Betty is there for a distraught Jughead after the discussion with his dad in 1x07





	Lie With Me

Jughead stood at the top of the ladder that led up to Betty’s bedroom, carefully sliding open the window that she had decided to leave unlocked the past few weeks in case he ever wanted to stop by. Without making a sound, Jughead climbed through the window and made his way across the room to find a motionless Betty tucked into her bed, her back facing him and shielding her face from his view.

“Juggie, what are you doing here?” Betty turned over in her bed to face him, sitting up in alarm at the forlorn look on his face. “Is everything okay?”

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” he apologized, tiptoeing across the room to take a seat next to her on the bed. “I’m sorry.”

“I wasn’t asleep,” Betty admitted, lowering her head back onto the pillow as she watched Jughead toss his jacket onto the chair next to him before turning back to look at her. “Too much to think about, you know?”

“Yeah,” he muttered, his voice thick with sadness as he leaned back onto the bed. “I do.”

“Jug, something’s wrong, I can tell,” Betty prompted, reaching out to place a gentle hand on his chest. “You can talk to me.”

“It’s just all this stuff with my dad,” he explained, his eyes locked on the ceiling as he tried to find the words to explain what he was feeling. “I wanted so badly to believe him today, when he said he was going to get his life together. I wanted to believe that he was better. But things are always going to be like this. I’m always going to be alone.” 

“You are not alone, okay?” Betty assured him, propping herself up on one elbow and scooting closer to him on the bed.“I know that’s not what you meant, but Juggie, you have Archie and Mr. Andrews, you have your friends at school, and even if they’re not with you right now, you still have your mother and sister.”

Jughead turned his head slightly on the pillow so that he was face to face with Betty, her eyes full of concern as she took his hand in hers.

“And no matter what, you will always have me,” she promised him. “I am always going to be here for you.”

“I know that,” Jughead whispered, his brows drawing together as he fought back the tears that he knew were imminent and refused to let them pop up at the corners of his eyes. “And I’m the luckiest guy in the world to have you, but-”

“But what?”

“Am I not enough for him?” Jughead’s voice broke as he finally let the tears begin to fall. “Am I not enough of a reason to just try a little harder and be the father I need him to be? It just makes me think that - that I’m not worth anything.” 

“Hey, look at me,” Betty sat up in the bed quickly and lifted herself onto the pillows to take Jughead’s face in her hands. “That is not true. You are important, Jughead, and your life is worth everything to the people who care about you. And even though he struggles to show it sometimes, your father is one of those people. He loves you, and he wants to make things right, I can feel it.”

“I just wish he’d show it, you know?” Jughead’s voice wavered, his bottom lip quivering as he let Betty gently stoke his hair away from his face. “Prove to me that he cares about what happens to me.”

“He will,” Betty assured him. “He will, Juggie. It just might take him some time.”

“Yeah,” Jughead breathed, lifting his head from Betty’s embrace and lowering it to rest on the cool pillow. “Do you mind if I just lie here for awhile? I haven’t been able to sleep much lately for obvious reasons. Plus, Archie snores so…” 

“Really?” Betty’s jaw dropped, her smile causing the weight pressing on Jughead’s heart to lift ever so slightly. “I’m totally using that as blackmail if he ever catches me on a bad day.”

“Well if you do, you didn’t hear it from me,” Jughead said, his eyes lighting up and his lips twitching up into the faintest smile. 

“And you can stay as long as you’d like by the way,” Betty offered, turning on her side so that she was face to face with Jughead on the pillow. “I like being here with you, like this. It makes everything feel lighter somehow, like the world isn’t so scary if we’re together. I know that probably doesn’t make any sense, but-”

“It makes perfect sense,” Jughead said quickly, his gaze locking in on hers and never wavering. “Whenever I’m feeling like this, being with you is the only thing that makes me feel normal. It’s the only thing that makes me feel safe. And it’s the only place I want to be.” 

“Ditto,” Betty whispered, lacing her fingers through his and resting their hands comfortably between them on the bed. 

They lay in silence for what seemed like hours, listening to the steady rhythm of the other’s breathing and reaching an inner stillness that neither of them knew they needed. Soon, Jughead’s eyelids began to droop and his fingers loosened in Betty’s hand.

“Goodnight, Juggie,” Betty breathed, her words barely escaping her lips as she lifted her head to lightly kiss the top of Jughead’s forehead. 

For the first time in weeks, both Betty and Jughead felt at peace enough to drift into a dreamless sleep, leaving their problems to be worried about another day. Everything was okay - everything was better - when they were by each other’s side. If only for a moment.


End file.
